Through a seemingly rigorous screening process, prospective members must submit a picture and profile for existing members to decide whether or not they are attractive enough to join the site. census reports that African Americans are the ethnic group least likely to marry, experts maintain non-traditional dating methods are increasingly gaining acceptance."African-American penetration in the online personals category has more than doubled in the last four to five years," according to Ron Worthy, who helped revamp the site Black People Meet.com, an affiliate of

The site is the latest of a handful of online dating sites targeted specifically at African Americans, tapping into a growing market. Sometimes we embellish the truth, particularly when we want to impress a possible mate.

Besides the occasional dip, I've tried to stay clear as I think this is the kind of conversation where there's a lot of condemnation and very little exploration.

One instance of claimed exploration is this study done back in October by the dating site OKCupid in which they mined their data to see how race and gender affected your chances at the site. Whether it's due to talkativeness, loneliness, or a sense of plain decency, black women are by far the most likely to respond to a first contact attempt.

But Laurie Davis from e Flirt warns us against exaggerating.

"Overplaying your lifestyle will attract different matches who, ultimately, won't be the best fit for who you really are," she says.

There's been a lot of talk over the past few months over the dating prospects for black women.

And while the convenience of browsing prospective dates from the comfort of your computer can be very enticing, sorting through endless embellished profiles and misleading pictures can be a daunting task at best.

Perhaps the site's creators have found the sweet spot.

Essentially every race--including other blacks--singles them out for the cold shoulder.

In many cases, their response rate is one and a half times the average, and, overall, black women reply about a quarter more often that other women. Or rather, they write them back far less often than they should.Black women reply the most, yet get by far the fewest replies.